Wrench



Oct. 22, 1946. s. HELGESON WRENCH FiledAprii. 14, 1944 2 Sheets-Sheet 1- Inventor STE/v HELGEsa/v s. HELGESON 2,409,627

WRENCH V Filed April 14, 1944 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 I Inventor STE/v Hflassow,

WWW

Patented Oct. 22, 1946 UNITED STATES' PATENT OFFICE WRENCH Sten Helgeson. Renville, Minn. Application April 14, 1944, Serial No. 531,023

1 Claim. (01. 81-78) The present invention relates to new and useful improvements in wrenches adapted for use either as a pipe Wrench, or in gripping nuts or other small objects and has for its primary object to provide a quick adjustable wrench of this character and embodying a stationary jaw and a pivoted jaw together with a handle for actuating the pivoted jaw into and out of closed position.

A further object is to provide a wrench of this character of simple and practical construction to-' gether with means for locking the pivoted jaw in closed position and which at the same time is efficient and reliable in performance, relatively inexpensive to manufacture and otherwise well adapted for the purposes for which the same is intended.

Other objects and advantages reside in the details of construction and operation as more fully hereinafter described and claimed, reference being had to the accompanying drawings forming part hereof, wherein like numerals refer to like parts throughout and in which- Figure 1 is a side elevational view.

Figure 2 is a perspective view.

Figure 3 is a side elevational view with parts shown in section.

Figure 4 is a sectional view taken substantially on a line 4-4 of Figure 3.

Figure 5 is a section on line 5-5 of Figure 1.

Referring now to the drawings in detail wherein for the purpose of illustration I have disclosed a preferred embodiment of my invention, the numeral 5 designates a stationary handle having a jaw 6 fixed at one end thereof and extending at an inclined angle with respect thereto.

A slide 1 is mounted on the handle 5, the slide being of substantially U-shaped formation and including the spaced parallel leg portions 8 and between which the handle 5 is in substantially close-fitting sliding relation.

A pin 9 extends transversely of the leg members 8 and on which is pivotally mounted a movable jaw l having its jaw face in cooperating clamping engagement with respect to the jaw face of the fixed law 5. The cooperating jaw faces are preferably formed with teeth and are also provided with one or more notches l2 also formed with teeth and adapted to grip a pipe, nut or other objects. An arouate arm l3 extends from the rear end of thepivoted jaw l0, rearwardly of the pin 9, as shown to advantage in Figure 3 of the drawings, and engaged therewith is a substantially hook-shaped end 14 on the front end of a handle l which is pivoted on a pin it extending transversely of the legs 8 of the slide,

the handle l5 being moved toward and away from the fixed handle 5 whereby to actuate the jaw l5 into its open or closed position.

The lower edge of the handle 5 is formed with longitudinally spaced notches ll adapted for engagement by a lug i8 formed on the upper edge of the handle I5 in the region of the pivot pin l6. By moving the handle l5 into the position as shown by the dotted lines in Figure 3 of the drawings, the lug l8 will be disengaged from the notches I! so as to permit free sliding movement of the slide 1 on the handle 5 to provide a quick adjustment for the jaw l0 and the slide is then secured in its adjusted position by the movement of the handle 15 toward the handle 5 in a manner to engage the lug [8 in one of the notches H.

A leaf spring i9 has one end secured on a pin 20 carried by the lower portion of the slide and a stop pin 2| also carried by the slide adjacent the pin 25 urges the free end of the spring against the lower edge of the arm [3 to move the jaw l0 into its open position.

The rear edge of the legs 8 of the slide 1 are formed with aligned notches 22 adapted to receive a wire, the notches 22 being positioned, above the upper edge of the handle l5, when the latter is moved downwardly and adapted for engagement by the upper edge of the handle l5 when the latter is moved upwardly whereby to function as a wire cutter. A flange 23 is formed about the notches 22 to provide an increased bearing surface for the wire.

A locking device is provided for the handle 15 and comprises a U-shaped bracket 24 slidably mounted on the handle 5 and retained in position thereon by a transverse pin 25 extending transversely of the legs of the bracket under the handle 5. The bracket 24 is formed with a shoulder 26 having an opening 21 therein and in which is loosely positioned a screw 28 having a wing nut 29 threaded thereon for engagement with the shoulder 26. One. end of the screw 28 is bent angularly as shown at 28' and inserted in an opening 30 in the rear end of the handle [5. Suificient play is provided for the screw 28 and the opening 21 in order to prevent binding of the screw therein during the movement of the handle l5. The loose movement of the screw 28 in the opening 30 also permits the tilting of the screw to disengage the angular end 28' from the opening 3|] in the handle l5, when desired.

In the operation of the tool it will be apparent that the upward movement of the pivoted handle l5 in a direction toward the fixed handle 5 will cause the hook M to exert a downward pressure on the arm l3 of the pivoted jaw 10 whereby to cause a closing movement of said jaw with respect to the fixed jaw 6.

It is believed the details of construction, operation and advantages of the device will be readily understood from the foregoing without further detailed explanation.

Having described the invention, what is claimed as new is:

A wrench comprising-a handle'liaving a fixed jaw at one end thereof, a slide carried by the handle, a movable jaw pivoted on the slide and having a rearwardly extending arm, a spring carried by the slide and engaging one edge of the arm to urge the movable jaw into its open position, and a handle pivoted on the slide and having its front end engaging the opposite edge of the arm to actuate the movable jaw into its closed position, and a locking device carried by the fixed handle and engageable with the pivoted handle to secure the latter against movement, said locking device comprising a U-shaped bracket slidably mounted on the fixed handle, a lateral shoulder thereon having an opening, a screw slidably mounted in the opening and having one end connected to said pivoted'handle, aridaa nut threaded 0n the screw against the shoulder and adapted to secure the pivoted handle against movement in a direction which would permit opening of the movable jaw.

S'I'EN HELGESON. 

